Dossier 1 - Letter to Lena Jeger

1 letter

Letter from John Beavan (Lord Ardwick), in his capacity of director of Manchester Guardian and Evening News Ltd, to Miss Lena Chivers (later Jeger), then employed in the Russian Section of the Ministry of Defence.

In the letter, Beavan provides Chivers with feedback on two articles she has written for Time and Tide, a weekly political and literary review magazine, advising that they are "well written," "they have emotion, not too much, not too little" and "all the time they are going somewhere and not just anywhere". A further article elicits a less favourable response, it being considered "a trifle ham."

Beavan goes on to consider the question posed by Chivers of whether she should return to the civil service following the war, or try to pursue a journalistic career. He asks her to consider whether she could achieve some of what he sees as key requirements of a reporter's position e.g. "could you give a news editor the kind of story he wants and not the kind you want to write?" He also offers advice on the comparative salary and other benefits.

Finally Beavan offers his thoughts about the prospects for women in journalism after the war and the changing nature of journalism as a profession more generally. He appears to urge caution e.g. "Journalism from the outside appears to be still a rather Bohemian occupation. It is not...There is more red tape and more hard slogging than in any Government department."

The letter ends on a personal note, suggesting that Chivers and Beavan know one another in a social capacity and is followed by a handwritten postscript.
Creator: The Guardian, 1821-